Long, Long Time Ago
by ATG-4835
Summary: She looked at him, a smile of pure delight on her face as fairies flew around in joy, and the whole realm stood to welcome her, once glorious applause that shook the entire palace… Fauns POV about the event before, during, and after the movie.


Hello!!!! I am writing yet ANOTHER one shot. What is it with me and one shots?? I rarely ever read them, preferring chaptered stories, and yet I write so many…

Whatever. I guess that's just how it goes sometimes…

Anyways, this is my first Pan's Labyrinth Story. I adore the movie, the whole thing, although it was very sad and depressing, the magic of it was pure brilliance. It made me sob though. I am truly shocked at the little number of Fanfiction there is for it! Very disappointed, even. Such brilliant movie deserves more than this. If you're reading this, write some. Contribute to the wonder that is Pan's Labyrinth.

So, after seeing the movie multiple times, and obsessing over the Faun to the point of indecency, I decided to write this out. Just something I had playing in my yeah, you know? It is centered on the Faun (I do love him so…) and Ofelia. However, she isn't the main character.

This'll only be one chapter, unless I feel truly inspired to continue and find a good way to extend it past a one shot, which I honestly doubt I will. Any inspiration that hits me will be spent on my Lord of the Rings fic, Universe Divided, which hasn't been updated in ages… If you have read it, then I truly am sorry… I'm working on it!!! It has been a while, and the chapter truly isn't that good, but I am trying. I haven't abandoned it! Don't worry!

Anyways, I hope you like this story. I'll be popping them out every so often, and I doubt this'll be my last Pan's Labyrinth story…

Tata,

-Alex

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It had never been easy being the guardian. So many long a dusty years, spent in the small pit where the Door lay. Years upon years of collecting dirt and roots. He had always been a creature of the earth, but seemed that the earth was swallowing him. In the Underworld, he had never had this problem. His bark like skin had been rather smooth, his voice soothing and melodic, and his eyes bright and shining. He had been held with high regard. After all, The Princess trusted Him. Him and no one else. Even the Princess's parents weren't nearly as trusted. He was her guardian, her protector, and her friend.

They had taken long strolls together in the gardens, spent hours watching the moon,, talked of everything and nothing. He had tried to give her everything she could have wanted. He had thought she had been happy. She certainly seemed it, although a trifle to curious for her own good.

Still, she longed for the one thing he could not give her. The Sun. He had told her a Fairy Tale about the world above once, when she was very little. It had fascinated her. She had requested that story be told from then on. It was an innocent little story, something one would like, and then forget…

But not Princess Moanna.

Dreams of the Sun and of Life occupied her nights, causing her to toss and turn fretfully, as if trying to climb towards the light. She had often woke gasping for breath, wanting to go through to door to the above world.

He had comforted her, and stopped her from leaving. Her place was here, in her kingdom. Her people loved her, her parents loved her. She had asked this many times, having looked upon her realm with a new eye. The dreamy haze of her world was lifted, and she could finally see it as what it truly was.

Dark.

The moon light the world, yes, but there was no life, no air, no beautiful flowers, no Sun…

She began to hate the moon. She began to hate it and everyone under it. She wanted to watch the flowers grow, she wanted to see the blue skies, and she wanted to breathe the sweet air…

He had told her many times that her place was here. The Sun wouldn't allow a child of the moon upon its land. He had swayed her somewhat by speaking of other things, small things that would distract her momentarily.

But he could always see her mind drifting somewhere else. Somewhere where there was life, and she could run through the green grass under the light blue sky…

He had noticed that she had begun asking more questions about it, wondering about the gate, how to get through it. He had spied on her while she was talking of plans to herself, thinking of ways she could get to the sunlit world above hers.

And he had worried for her. He would loose her. He had confronted her in no small amount of anger. She was His charge. His friend and his Princess. His.

The talk did not go well. She had been yelled at before, of course, by her parents, or her maids, or her tutors… But never from him. He had always been the one who comforted her after this, soothing her tears away and cheering her up with his sarcastic comments about the one who had caused her sorrow.

She had never been yelled at by Him, though. She hadn't even realized he could shout. His voice had always been mockingly calm and gentle. These words he had spoken were dripping with cruelty. She had cried harder than she ever had, ashamed at her own behavior, and terrified that she had lost her best friend and her protector. She had shouted back at him, of course. What else could she do? Her pride wouldn't allow her to talk it sitting quietly with her head bowed.

She had gone overboard. Whereas his blames and comments were bluntly truthful, hers were hateful. She had said she hated him, and that she never wanted to see him again. She had accused him of treating her like a favored pet, or an object than a friend. So many things she had never wanted to say sprang from her lips, things that had they been said to her, she would have most likely died from the weight.

The Faun had stood there, tall and silent, his normally stunning eyes now dead looking… hollow. He had the look of an empty shell. The look of someone who had just been killed inside. He had stood there without a single word, taking all that she had screamed, not even batting an eye. Calm and deathly quiet.

Once she had stopped shouting, there had been silence in the room, before she told him in no uncertain terms to Get Out. He had obeyed without commenting. She had been used to him rebutting everything she asked him to do with some sort of witty response that often had her doing it herself while he stood by and smugly watched.

To obey without a sound… it broke her heart, and she had cried like she had never thought she could.

And that night, she had run away.

If the Faun truly thought about it (And he tried not to…), It was his entire fault that it had happened. His fault that she had died that night. She had gone to the Sun, seeking solace in the unknown. And it had erased her mind completely, and then, slowly, it had killed her.

He had tried to search for her, he had tried to find her, but she had been lost. He had only gone to the world at night, so that he too wouldn't loose his memories. And when he had finally found her, she was dead. Her eyes had been wide open, staring at the sky blankly, most likely having sent he Sun one last time, and although her memories may have been gone, somewhere, deep inside of her, seeing the Sun had meant something…

The faun had stayed with her as long as he could, not wanting to leave the empty shell of his charge behind, in this strange, cruel world she had sought so desperately. To take her back to the Underworld, to take her body back, she would stay dead. His Princess Moanna, His best friend…

And if her left her here, where time would eventually decay her body, she would be reborn one day, one day unconsciously seeking to return to her home. She would come back to him, and he would walk with her once more in the circular gardens of her palace.

And so, he had left her there, returning quickly to the underworld just as the sun began to rise, paling the sky so that for the first time ever, he had felt. He had felt sick, sick as a human would feel if they were on the brink of Death.

He had gotten back, only to have to return to the world once more to wait for her. He had waited years… centuries, as humans would mark the time. It all seemed so long, and yet, it was a blur for him…

He had felt her long before she had felt him. He could almost hear her laugh on the wind, hear her smile, hear her small voice ask him to tell her a story before bed…

He had sent out the Fairies to bring her to him. He would wait. He had waited so long, a little more wouldn't hurt.

That night, He awoke to the soft pattering of feet down the long winding steps, and he had nearly wept with joy. So long on the normal world, that he had become susceptible to frequent bouts of emotion that left him feeling no small amount of fright. She had looked around, calling with her small voice, "Echo…" A favorite past time of hers, when she was exploring the more cave like parts of her realm.

Hearing something so familiar, so close, so natural… it made him feel like no time had passed, and that she hadn't died that horrible day. They would explore the caves, him reprimanding her for squeezing into small nooks and crannies where his 8 foot tall figure couldn't possibly reach her. Hide and Seek had never been his favorite game, nor tag, which was probably why they were hers. Not being very fast, or very clever at hiding, she would loose with anyone else playing. But the Faun couldn't run much at all, and hiding for him was nearly impossible.

She had always won.

"Echooo!" She had called once more, startling him.

He had turned towards her, scaring her half to death with his sudden exclamation of joy.

There she was, the same age, the same height… the same Princess Moanna…

And yet, she wasn't her at all. This girl was called Ofelia, not Moanna. This girl grew up a life of tragedy, not a life of a princess… She was born Ofelia, but deep down inside, she was his princess.

The first two tasks she had been required to do were to slowly bring her memories back. She had befriended the toad long ago, A chance meeting that no one had approved much. The Toad had been threatening the princess, moving closer to the palace everyday. He had proven himself dangerous many times. Good men had been killed by the toad, and with the threat of the Princesses life, The Faun had been sent out to deal with it. She had heard of the Toad, and of its threats. Men who had tried to bargain with it before had been eaten. Her best friend in the whole world was facing something that could seriously hurt it. She hadn't doubted his abilities as a protector, but all the same, this was her guardian… She wasn't about to let him fight on his own…

She had snuck after him, And by the time he realized that she was there, it was too late and they were in the heart of beasts lair. She could tell that the Faun had wanted to yell at her, to send her back home in tears for putting herself at risk like that, but He hadn't, and instead, he told her to stay behind him. Although he was to be walking into a life threatening situation, He would feel much more focused if he could keep her by his side rather than on her own, where anything to get her. Without him, she was a very helpless fighter.

The toad had been ready to kill them both, the Faun pushing His Princess behind his legs, ready to give his life for her if need be, but by some miracle, she had began to speak to the blasted thing, asking it why it wanted to harm her, and why it felt it had to kill people…

He would never know quite how she did it, but they had left the cave with the Toad following behind them, having been tamed into her service by her kind and gentle words to him. She had behaved admirably… foolishly, no doubt, but she had looked into the face of the beast fearlessly.

Since the princess had firmly put her foot down on executing the 'poor thing for something we had drove it to do', it had been decided it would be exiled onto Earth, where it would live until the end of time.

It was left there on the strange planet, much like Pan himself was. Exiled into a deadly world, where one misshapes into the daylight would result in a painful demise. It was a punishment of the worse type. The toad had taken refuge deep within a tree hiding from the world…

But no matter what the Water made the plant grow into, it would always retain some part of its seed…

And so, the Toad, overtime forgetting its beloved princess, began to grow bitter and fat once more, killing all that came into its territory, and killing the tree itself.

And so, When 'Ofelia' was to retrieve the key, she had destroyed it, as he had given her the stones which were laced with a deadly poison. The toad didn't deserve to continue living. Its existence was so tormented that Death was a much sweeter thing than continuing like it had been. Ofelia had retrieved the key, but he had seen it in her eyes that she had felt absolutely horrible at killing it, like it was a friend she had once known and liked.

It proved her kindness of heart to him, and her obvious guilt at killing something that had tried to kill her… Still, she had the key, which he himself had planted there…

The key was something he had kept for a very long time, since his Princess was still alive, and only about 9.

She had been kidnapped, he recalled, no, not kidnapped, but lured…. Lured to the lair of the Pale Man, a murdering monster that delighted in taking children and killing them in brutal ways, keeping their bloody, battered shoes as a souvenir. Often times, they were eaten, sating his delight for flesh and blood, however, they had found victims of his delight stabbed and clawed to death. Many times though, there were not much left to recover. Eyes, Ears, Legs, Arms, Cheeks, Fingers… Most of it had either been kept by that demon, or they had been eaten.

His Princess had been stolen from him, the Pale Man most likely craving royal blood for once. And His Moanna had hidden in the pile of disgusting shoes, huddled, breathing in the rotting stench of the shoes that were still occupied by a severed limb… She had stayed there for days, while the Pale man searched and searched for her, finally thinking she had escaped. He eventually settled down at his table filled with the forbidden feast, and His Princess had crept out from the shoes, scared and vulnerable.

She had taken the key that belonged to him and she had locked the door behind her, so that he could not get out and capture anyone else… She had ran, for days and days, not knowing how to get to her palace…

A friendly woodsman had found her wandering the dark forest, covered in mud, here eyes wide with the fear of the nightmares that had kept her running without halt. She had locked the thing inside, but she could still hear the swiping of his hands coming the air for her as she curled into the shoes of previous children who hadn't been as fortunate. The woodsman had taken her in, while sending someone to the castle for help.

And so, Pan had arrived immediately. He had led the search party for her, and when the news came, he ran as fast as his long bowed legs could go. Horses wouldn't have supported him, he had tried that once before and it had ended up in disaster, and although the other soldiers had their steeds, he had been the first one there, the first one to see hear her terrified shouts as she fought in her sleep to escape from the horrors that had caught her.

He had pulled her into his arms without a thought, soothing away her cries and holding her until her sobs had lessened. The men had requested that they bring her back, since the Faun could not ride, but he refused the offer, carrying her the long way instead. He was her guardian, her protector. She needed him the most, and he would not hand her off to someone else.

For weeks afterwards, he would stand guard outside her door, decency not permitting him to guard her in her own room. Still though, whenever the first signs of distress where made heard, he would slip silently through her lovely carved door and comfort her until she slept peaceful nights.

And still, when she began to dream with a small smile on her face, he had stayed in front of her door, leaning on the wall, a tall, quiet guard against all that could hurt her. The maids cowered from him as she went in the morning to have her bathed and dressed. He allowed them to, but not without a look in his eyes that promised unimaginable pain to anyone who dare harm His Princess… His Moanna…

When this… Ofelia had been sent to the Pale Man, he had worried for her, but only briefly. His Princess would over come this, and if this Ofelia could not, she was not His Princess. His Princess had stayed for days, wide awake in the pit of the Pale man's lair, surrounded by the putrid shoes, stained with blood and carnage while the beast had searched for her. She had seen the images on the walls, she knew what would happen if she were caught. His Moanna had been braver than most soldiers would be.

And this Ofelia, she had gone into the very heart of her nightmares, a fearless look upon her face. She had done what she had needed to do, retrieving the Dagger that Moanna had kept on her at all times, and that had been stolen from her when she had been kidnapped. It was still in the place she had once told him. The Pale Man had locked it away into a small compartment, one of three, just like she had told him….

And she had retrieved it… but not without having an 'accident' as she had put it.

Two grapes. Two grapes from the Forbidden Feast, having paid no heed to what he or the Fairies had told her. She had only needed to eat one tiny little bite to wake the Pale Man up, who had immediately recognized her as the last prey he had ever caught, the the only one to have ever escaped, leaving him locked and starving there for centuries.

Two grapes, two fairies…. Two of his small, twittering companions were eaten by the Pale Man, while this… Ofelia had watched horrified at what she had done. She had run as fast as she could, barely making it out of there alive.

And the Faun had been so… disappointed. He had thought she had truly been His Princess, come to reign over her land once more. She had proven her kindness of heart with the toad, and her bravery with the Pale Man…

He had yelled at her, harsh words instead of his usual mockingly gentle voice. She had begun to cry, only wanting to escape this cruel world and go to where she could find happiness…

And he had been reminded of what had happened before. He had been reminded of the night had had ran away. It was the same situation all over again. He had yelled at her that she couldn't leave, that she would live with these stinking humans and die with them…

Rage…. Hidden guilt… And even perhaps a small amount of a bitterness. Ofelia had wanted to go where she could be happy… To the world where the moon reigned supreme, and escape from her where terrible things happened under the bright, all seeing sun.

His Princess had wanted to go where the Sun made life, instead of staying under the moon, where nothing lived… She wanted to go where she could play in the meadows, and swim in the streams, to dance underneath the blue skies without a care…

And that had killed her, leaving her an empty shell of her former self, not even knowing who she was when she had died, alone and under the bright, life giving Sun.

This Ofelia had wanted to go back to the Moon, unconsciously wishing to return to her rightful home, and escape this Death Bringing sun, who under its mocking rays, blood was shed without thought, and death was a constant thing.

If only His Moanna had realized this… If only she had realized the extent of what she had… His beautiful Princess… his beautiful charge…

Always wanting what she couldn't get, and what he couldn't give to her.

She had proved herself in more ways than one, down in the Pale Man's lair. Her curiosity was legendary down in her Kingdome. Everyone knew of her excitement for adventure…

The Grapes were her way of testing the system; so to speak… what could she do with this newfound power of hers… He had played the role of the fed up parent controlling a terrible toddler during this stage, which she had started at about four years of age and has lasted her until around five and half. She had been rebelling at almost everything, breaking all the rules there, being downright defiant until she had realized there were consequences to her actions.

And so, when he remembered what happened the last time he hadn't guarded her, he had immediately come back. And Ofelia had run to him and had hugged him as tightly as her small arm could, overwhelmed with relief. He had pulled her closer to him than he normally would have, holding her almost possessively to him. He hadn't held her in so long; he had almost forgotten the feeling of her warm arms around his waist.

He had tapped her playfully on the tip of her nose, just like he always used to do, when he was jesting about something she found important. Her nose scrunched up slightly, like it always did, and her eyes crossed to look at the end of her nose. He couldn't help but quietly chuckle…

She was the same Moanna, the same Princess that he knew. She was His brave young charge, the one person who he had declared allegiance to above all else, even her parents, the King and Queen. He would protect and serve His Princess until the day he drew his last breath, and he was very much immortal, unless of course, he was killed by other means than time.

He told her what she needed to do… this was the last test, and the most important of all. Pan had a feeling of what would happen that night, just as he had felt her presence when she moved into the old mill, and just as he had felt that she would runaway that night…

He had ignored those feelings once, the only time he ever had. He had guarded her door for years until that night, when so hurt and pained at her hateful words; he had left the door unguarded, and had let her cry until her eyes were dead and cold. The one night he didn't stand watch… the one night when that weight settled into the pit of his stomach and churned…

He had ignored it, mistaking it for guilt at what was said between the two, however, it wasn't guilt… it was dread. Dread of what he knew would happen.

And she had left. His charge, His friend, His Princess… His Moanna…

He had searched and searched for her the moment the sun came down and it was safe. He would have gladly searched during the day as well, but the King had forbidden him to. He wanted his Daughter found, and the Faun could find no one of he himself perished. It was a risk he would have spared no thought of not risking. All too willing, he would lie down and die if it would give His Moanna the chance to live.

When he had found her, she had only just died. Her face was deathly pale, having spent so much time in the Moon, where the was no Sun to blush her cheeks. Tear tracks were clearly visible in the dirt that covered her porcelain face. Small drops of moisture on her black eyelashes could still be seen. She had been crying when she had died, mourning the loss of something she couldn't remember. She hadn't remembered anything of her life, which she was. She had died a nothing, no past, no name, no future.

It had been the first time he had ever wept, he recalled. No other time in the history had he done so, and tears were foreign to him. Moanna had cried often enough to understand the significance of them, but these tears that slipped of his eyes… they brought no feelings… he was empty. Immortal though he was, most of him had died that night along with her. He could have prevented it…

And sinking to the ground, with her head resting in the crock of his arm, and her small body cradled on his lap, he had cried for the first time ever, feeling absolutely nothing. That had changed him forever. He could hardly think of her without seeing her dead, unseeing eyes looking up at the sky…the small teardrops that clung to her lashes, and the trails of moisture that made lines down her face. Her small lips blue from the coldness of death…

And he could do nothing, except bow his head over hers and kiss her softly on her small nose, closing her empty eyes with one hadn't, and clutching her to him with the other. He had cried on the night she had died, and he had never cried again.

He had left when the moon had sunk, and the dawn was already upon him, dragging himself back to the gate where he nearly fell to the palace. Weak, and Ill… All for her, and he would have done it again, over and over again if it had would have made the slightest difference.

Time in the underworld passed differently than in the above world. He had been sentenced to wait for the Princess above until she came, in which case, he would be forgiven for letting her leave. Straight out of the Kings mouth…

He was exiled that night, and was kicked out onto the world above, keeping near the dark earthy walls of the pit where the Gate was, trying to keep away from the Suns harsh rays… like the Toad, who lived in a tree. He too grew bitterer as time wore on.

And wore on it certainly did. The people of the Underworld had no concept of Time like the Humans do. They live forever, there was no reason to count how long the time is, or how many years you live past a certain point. Children born there grew until they were mature enough to accept responsibility. Their parents, upon this day, would then step down, letting their children rule while they watched silently for a while, until they were no longer needed. They would then go to the land far beyond the sea where their ancestors waited for them, and slowly, they would be forgotten… it was tradition. You could not die, and so, you simply removed yourself from life, letting yourself fade away over time.

The Faun had stayed upon land for a long long time, forgetting that he even existed, or that there was even a Princess to watch for. He had began to think that he had always been there, that everything he thought he remembered was just in his mind, a way to pass the time… He served no purpose, and so, he let himself drift away from any sort of existence…

Until she had come back. He had woken from it, like it was a long dream, remembering everything that had been forgotten, and looking forward to seeing His Princess once more.

His Moanna.

To the King and Queen in the underworld, it was as if they had just lost their Daughter. The felt her absence, but not nearly like the Faun had. He had been there for over 5 centuries, missing something he couldn't recall until she had come back to him…

And so, when he had given her the chalk to escape from her room, he had heeded the dread in his stomach. His Moanna would come home to him, he hoped, but he was certain that she would pass the test…

She had gathered her brother to her, holding the baby carefully, her mind so set that she didn't even stumble as she ran. Ofelia's brother was the only thing left of her mother, her beloved mother who didn't live to see her baby's face…

The child could not go with her to the land of the Moon. He was a child of the in-between, where the Sun and Moon collided and created day and night. He belonged in the middle… As did the little girl, Ofelia…

She had brought him her brother, just as he had asked of her, and there, he revealed his intentions. Of course, if Ofelia let him prick her young half sibling, she would have been denied access to her realm and the name Moanna would be forgotten over time…

But she denied him instead, refusing to let harm come to a child she was holding for the first time, and the Fauns heart sang. His Moanna would come home. His Charge… His Princess.

Moanna's home was always in the Realm of the Moon, nowhere else. She could belong only there, and only there would she truly be happy, laughing and frolicking under the moonlight, through the circular gardens, and in the caves where she happily made echoes.

But Ofelia did not belong. A child of the Light could never belong to the Realm of the Moon. Ofelia was not allowed there, only Moanna.

And he had gazed upon the Little Girl as her step father took the newborn child, and shot his stepdaughter, leaving her to lay in a pool of her own blood has he stormed off.

Pan had left the shadows, his form bathed in the moonlight and he had stroked Ofelia's hair as her breath came in sharp gasps of pain. He directed her blood-covered hands to the edge of the pit where the blood dropped onto the stone in the middle of it.

He had stayed with her, her eyes not seeing anything except the full moon above her. Her friend, Mercedes had came for her, only to find the little girl nearly dead and began humming a lullaby that was both haunting and beautiful, and seemed to calm Ofelia.

The Faun stood up, and loomed over her, as she saw the palace only she could see.

And suddenly, he was right there, behind the tall thrones, watching to look of awe on the face of His Moanna, His Beautiful, sweet and selfless Princess, who would never go without his protection, as long as she wanted it.

He bowed to her, his ears twitching in delight at her homecoming. She was back where she belonged, where she could fit in and be with Him. And he was back as well, where he could continue to guard over her, and stand outside her door every night, even when her sleeping breaths were soft and even…

She looked at him, a smile of pure delight on her face as fairies flew around in joy, and the whole realm stood to welcome her, once glorious applause that shook the entire palace…

He spread his arms out, welcoming the embrace he could see she wanted, and she rushed into his arms, grabbing him tightly. He could tell that she felt completely at home now, and if it were possible, they were even closer than they had been. He could sense the level of excitement she felt, the elevating disbelief at what she was seeing, but at the same time, know it was right.

He could sense this… for she was His Friend. She was His Charge. She was His Moanna, She was His Princess…

And she was His.

He held her to him as close as he could, feel a sort of happiness he had never recalled feeling before. It filled him so completely, that all he could do was hug her tighter, not wanting to have this feeling ever end…

Behind her, the magnificent door shut, and far above them, the little girl Ofelia died, a smile of peace on her face.

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Please review! This will not be the only Pan's Labyrinth story I will write. I have a few in mind, some taking place before Ofelia, when she was still Princess Moanna, and some during her time on earth, and some after Ofelia dies… most likely expect a lot of one shots coming your way, perhaps some chaptered stories, if I feel so suicidal to take on yet another chaptered story, of which I have multiple ones that have yet to be updated…

So please review, and I hope you like it! I have a website, which can be found in my profile.

Tata,

Q


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